High-voltage-psoducing ieeans



L. W. CHUBB.

HIGH VOLTAGE PRODUCING MEANS.

APPuc/mou mw 1An.2s.|9|s.

? Patented Nov. 14, 1922.

INVENTOR Lew/ls W Chubb.

A'TORNEY gheny and Patented Nov. 14, 1922.

UNITED STATES PATENT orties LEWIS W. CHUBB, OF EDGEWOOD PARK, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO WESTINGHOUSE ELECTRIC Sc MANUFACTURING COMPANY, A CORPORATION 0F PENNSYLVANIA.

-YHIGHvoL'rAeE-PRODUCING MEANS,

applicati@ mea January 25, 1919. serian No. 272,999.

To alt wlw-m it may concern:

Be it known thatV I, Lnwisli. a citizen of the United States, and l"aresident of Edgewood Park. in the countyrof Alle- Statc of Pennsylvania, vhave ,invented a new land useful Improvement in High-Voltage-ProducingrMeans, of which the following is a specification. I

My invention relates to'mea-ns tor producing high voltagea'nd'has particular relation to means of ythe character designated'tvvheein electrical generating Ineaiis afreplaeedin an evacuated containerI to'r thepurposeoteftecting'the production of"extremely high voltages. i .r f. In attaining the' above mentioned object, Iemploy a machine' Whiehis analogous, in some respects,`to an4 electrostatic influence machine. Howeven the electrostatic iniluence machine has not, heretofore,"beei1 capa ble of producing'extremely high voltaes or large currents, on'account of the in'suIa'tion difficulties which have been experienced, and, moreover,the ovver 'which it was possible 4to derive there rom ivas relatively small because the inherent'limitations inthe construction of such machines precluded the possibility of multi-polar operation and the use ofhighica acitance Within a relatively small space. n machines of the character designated, a plurality ot conducting plates are mounted upon relativelyv lrotatable members, and charges are built up on these plates by reason of the electrostatic' induction therebetween. t we assume that. there is no leakage of the charge, through corona or. surface de-l iects, at no load, thefelectrostati'c charges will be built up by induction in 'proportion to an experiential function of the i,time of operation. In allclectrostatie influence inachinos. as heretofore constructed, the charge builds up until the leali-.ige is equal. to the generation of electricity on thf.` revolving plates. It is obvious.y therefore` that only relatively lou' voltages may be produced by such machines. since the leakage through any gas is relatively rapid and, therefore.

bffoiic a substantially high voltage may be.

built up by inductioiu'thc leakage, which increases very rapidly as the voltav'ev approaches an appreciable value, ,WilI have dissipated the energy tgenerated by the plates of the machine. v'

I find that, by placing an electrostatic influence machine o'tlmy improved design in a container' and evacuating the same, I am able to adapt the machine for multi-polar operation and, moreover, 1' nd that it is possible to use` an entirely different 'form of plate structure than has heretofore been employed, on account of the, extremely eliitient insulation which `is furnished by the vacuum maintained 'within Vthe container. In other rivords, without anV appreciation of the bene- V fitsfivhich are to be realized from theemployment ,et= an evacuated container for my apparatus, 'theo eration thereof, tb' produce an extreme y highl voltage land, eurrent output, is1 impossible since, While"v herein Idisclose'a novel structure forthe 'p'roduction of'high voltage, its 'efficient operation inseparably associated withan evacuatedcontainer. f y A f As will hereinafterappear in the detailed description "of `my invention, AI amable to employ multi-plate inducing means, and find that, through tlieuse of an 'evacuated con-- tainer, these multi-plate means may be inter-- leaved in such manner'that, although'` they are relatively close'lto each otherin space position', the efficientinsulationatlorded by the vacuum admitsof an abnormally high voltage being built `up on 4the oppositely charged members thereof, In this connection, it is well to note that the quantity of electricity which may be stored in any energy-storingmeans 1s equal to the product of the capacitance of those means and the dierence of 4potential which exists between them. It is apparent, therefore, that, when the plate members of an energy-storing means: are separated and the capacitance thereof rapidly decreases, the voltage will rapidly increase in value because the quantity, of electricity which is. stored upon the plates will remain the same. This feature is made us of in electrostatic machines in general, and by my improved multiplatc construction in particular, to maintain a relatively high voltage between two energyderivingmeans which are associated with the influence machine. However, as has heretofore been pointed out, it is impossible, with the usual form of machine, to maintain the voltage at a value greater' than that required to break down the gaseous insulation which exists between the oppositely charged members ot the generating means.

For a better understanding of my invention, reference ma)` he hail to thc :inminpat-nylugr drawing in which Fig. l is a sectional View of so much of my impro-:cel electrostatic n'uichinc as is necessary im' :i coniplete understanding thereof; Fig. -2 is a view taken at right angles to that shown in Fig. 1, and illustra-tes one form which the: generating means may assume, and, furthermore, shows a single. pair of .energjfderivA ing means which adapt the ctmstruction shownvin this ligure .for use in a two-.pole ,iuachindg .and Fig. Il lis :i View. similar `to Fig..2;.of Aa in o'dified forni of generating ,means which is adapted for use in a multierm 1,.,3. ate l. and supporting members Zand 3 projecting upwardly therefrom, constitute the 1supporting structure forthe indueing members. A .two-part shaft 4 1'5 is supported by the members 2 and 3, and, as may ,be observed from 1 the right-hand poi-tion 4.ofthe shaft is adapted to be ro tatedand, for this purpose, is journalcd 1n the. left-hand portion 5 of .the shaft, this lattprzportion offthe shaft being rigidi;v sei Secure-.d to the rotaportion 4 yof :the shaft 4.-5 is a. nonconducting disc member 6 and attached thenetc is a hexfel gear .wheel i .adapted tc mesh :with .a ,gear wheel 8 which is mounted on vthe stationary portion 5 .of the shaft .L1- 5. The "'Jr'wheel v8 meshes also with a gear wheeltht is secured to, a second uon-con disc member 10 which .is shown as lqos'elyinounted upon the non-rotatable portioniof the .shaft-4&5. The reason .for the construction just described will hereinafter appear inthe description of the operation of my machine.

A, plurality of circumferentinlly disposed segmental pieces 11 and 12 .a1-c mounted upon the inner faces of the. disc members 6 and 10, respectively, each .of lthe pieces 11 and 12 haring energy-storing plates 13 and 14 attached Vthereto or formed integrally therewith, respectively, it being understood that the members 1 3 and 14 .together constitute a structure almlogous to a condenser, and, moreover, that they may be relatively moved Without any portion of one member touching a portion. of the other member. notwithstanding the fact that the)r are closely inter-leaved during their juxtaposition Conducting members 15 `and 1G arr connected to members 1.1 und 12, respectively. and extend vthrough the supporting nou-conducting structures 6 and 10 in such manne-r that the plate members may bc charged from the .outer surface of said nonconducting structures. Nentralizing arms 17 and 1 8 are associated with the lrptnti-.vc disc .members 6 and 10, respectively, and carry. at their ends, Contact means, here shown, as feaiblc` brushes 19-19 and 20' .20,

now more pzlvlticularl),7 to lfig.

lcicrence to Fig l will show that the {lexible brushes are aiila-pbed to make cont-act. with the conducting members 15 and 16, und thereby convey charges from one inductor to the inductor diametricallif opposite. ln Fig. 2, onel pair of neutralizingr arms are shown, and in Fig. 3. two pairs. for reasons hereinafter explained.

ln order to collect the ener-5v which is accumulated in the inducing devices, l provide pairs of brushes, shown as one pair 21 and 22 in Fig. 2; and as two pairs 23 and 2l. and 25 and 26, in Fig. 3, for reasons hereinafter indicated.

The entire .operating structure of the inachine hereinbefore described is enclosed in a casing 27 which is fluid tight and is adapted to be evacuated, as through an outlet`28.

Having described the construction of thc machine for producing high voltages in accordance with my invention, the operation thereof is as follows:

In the following description, I have assumed that .the o 1positiely rotating ,members 6 and 1() have tlieir segmental portions 1l and 12 substantially lopposite each other, just enough separa-.tion vort* the same being shown in Figs. 2 and 3 to indicate the structure.. In either the bipolar form of Fig. 2 or the multipol-ar form .of Fi 3, the opera* .tion of my device is'substantially the same. Then any .one of the charged segments 11, on the rotating late 6, passes oppositeja segment 12, on t e other plat/aand, at the saine time, the neutralizing arm 18 contacts with the conducting member 16 voi. the second-mentioned segment, a jcharged con-V denser is produced. Latenthc secondsegnient passes away from the ,neutrali-zing brush, and the voltage between the two segments is rapidlyr increased 'because .of the separat-ion of .the two segments and consequent reduction in capacity. The brushes 21, 22 or 23, 25 and 24, 26 contact with the segments mid-Wagr between the neutralizing arms to receive an impressed potential difference corresponding to the maximum potentials vof the segments.

In an ordinary static infuenoe machine, thel voltages and distances between parts are limited by discharges between passing members of thc condensers and from different parts of the machine. I will now point out those features in my machine which are novel and which are instrument-al in the production of an extremely high voltage not heretofore realized in machines ot the chan acter designated.

The opposite rotation of the disc members, `which carry the oppositely charged members 13 and 1,4 of the Ven,ezvgy-storing device, is obtained through the rotation of the right-hand portion 4 of the shaft 4 5 and the co-action therewith of the gear' wheels 7. 8 and 9, it b eng understood that the gear wheel El rotatesabout' an upstanding ortion of the stationaryy part 5 of the ysha t 4 5. In this'connectiomwhile I have not shown the shaft portion" 4 'asl bassocizited with any driving means; it' is iobvibus that"V any "well known construction mayl be utilized." One form which I havefoiind"particularly advantageous is that'. 'wherein Lthe" secondary member'of an: induction mtor isV mounted within the .evacuated ycasing and isadapted to; rotatelthe ,shaft portion 4 while the -primaryme' bei"1 positioned oiitside 'the 'casing, the magnetic 4` l.irieswhich actuatef the rotor'oi the induction mot/orio@ of course, being in any'wa ,iipeded bytaentainng striictirif; his structure' lisI of lbenet, since it permits of the influence machine its 'ftllivinA 'apparatus'vbenglf ieitirely contained wit in the evacu'atd chamber: ',ff f f In Fig. 2, the membersf 13 and 14 are shownat t e` siti o maximum condensa'iice'liI i'lles'(g eiii ers are charged in the well known manner but it is apparent that they could not be constructed in a form admitting of close inter-leaving without the provision of a high-vacuum insulation. The. members 6 and 10 are rotated, as is usual in-infiuence machines, and the energy stored in the members 13 and 14 is collected therefrom by means of the brushes 21-22 or, in case of the multipolar construction, shown in Fig. 3, by a plurality of pairs of brushes 22-23 and 25-26. In this connection, it should be noted that, if the multipolar construction were attempted without the provision of a vacuum insulation, there would inevitably be a heavy spark pass from brush to brush, and, as the number of pairs of brushes increased in order to adequately multiply the power obtained, it is apparent that the danger of such flash-over would enormously increase.

As will be noted, in the above descrip- 7fion of my machine and the operation thereof, the multicellular construction and the adaptation to multipolar operation is impossible without the provision of an evacuated container which furnishes a vacuum equivalent toa high-value insulation which is necessary to prevent the above described leakage and Hash-over difficulties.

While I have shown but two embodiments ol" my invention, it is apparent that inlineni-c machines of other forms may be adapt- Y ed to utilize the principles which I have disclosed` and I desire. therefore. to be adequately protected in the broad features of my invention. and have it limited only by prior art or by the scope of the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

l. In combination with an electrostatic generator. an evacuated container therefor.

QA In an electrostatic generator, multi-cellular energystoringl means comprising interleaved members arranged to have their capacitance alternately increased and reduced, and an evacuated container therefor.

3. In an electrostatic generator, the combination of relatively oppositely rotatable members, supporting means therefor, multicellular energy-storing means associated with said rotatable members, and an evacuated container therefor. 4. Inan electrostatic generator, the combination of relatively oppositely rotatable members, supporting means therefor, multicellular' energy-storing means associated with said rotatable'members, comprising a plurality 'of reentrantplate members adapted to be lin'te'ar-leaved upon. Vthe rotation of said oppositely j rotatable members, l and an e',\"a,'cu,ated 'coiitainer therefor. W51" 'In an electrostatic generator, relatively op" "ositely rotatable supporting members, `a shaft'oii' which 'said -members are mounted, mlt'i'celliilar" energy-storing land restoring means secured to Said rotatable members and adapted to be inter-leaved by the rotation thereof, and an evacuated container therefor.

6. In an electrostatic generator, relatively oppositely rotatable supporting members, a shaft on which Said members are mounted, multi-cellular energy-storing and restoring means secured to said members and comprising two sections for each of said means, one of said sections being secured to one rotatable member and the other Section being secured to the oppositely rotatable member, whereby they may have their capacitance varied by the rotation of said members, and an evacuated container therefor.

'r'. In an electrostatic generator, relatively oppositely rotatable supporting members, a shaft on which said members are mounted, multi-cellular energy-storing and restoring means secured to said members and comprising two sections for each of said means, one of said sections being secured to one rotatable member and the other section being secured to the relatively oppositely rotatable member, each section being composed of a plurality of re-entrant plate members, which are adaptedtobe inter-leaved by the rotation nf said rotatable members, whereby the capacitance of said energy-storing means may he varied, and an evacuated container therefor.

S. In an electrostatic generator. relatively oppositely rotatable supporting;r members,` a

-shaft on which said members are mounted. multi-cellular energy-storing and restoring means secured to said members comprisingr tivo sections for each of said means. one of said sections being secured to one rotatable member and the other of said sections beingT secured to the oppositely rotatable member. each section being composed of plurality ot re-entrant plate members, extending parallel lo enh! simil, which ure adapted to be iuterund adupteduto beinter-lezived bay the oppolenved hy the rotation of Said rotatable niemsite rotation thereof, Said plates fuuctionin,r here, whereby the Capacitance of seid en- :is energy-storipg and restoring means;l` the 25 orgy-storing means may he variecL und an eapacitauceof whichl is varied hy their nperncunteil container therefor. preach and separation, neutralizing arms 9. In en electrostatic generator, u pluralndapted `to touch and connect lappropriate ity of relntively oppositely rotating plate pletesmmsheeengeging siaid energy-storing members comprising:r energy-storing means, means in order to .derive energy therefrom, 30 :i plurality of pairs ofenergy-deriving,means und 4im ioveiclimitedV container for the forego- :xssociaited therewith and adapted to derive ing apmamtus. energy therefrom, whereby a multi-polar 14.3511. elect;.rositrt-iey generating device electmetetic generator is constituted, and im efnnprisiiignruevgeuted container, .and a Vamounted container therefor. pluralit of oofoperaing ,platesdisposedjn 35 10. I 11 an electrostatic generator, e shaft, relative y; close. proximity, .Such evacuation Supports therefor, membere comprising 3, J,to prenant: excessive vleakage plurality of radially extending segments twgepseidplates regardless of `their proxmounted on said shaft, means ,associated imity, with said members ,11nd, saidshaft `whereby In testimony whereof, I have hereunto 40 said members may '.be. oppositely. rotated, subscribed my name this 21st day of Jan. multi-.cellular energy-sto1-ing ineens com- 1919. 4 ,E v prisnga pluralityofplates'extending par- ,l. v; allel to said lsheit segments y v, .i i, v LEWIS W. CHUBB.y 

